Bangkok Bank Opening an Account in NY

[Teammurano]

I can’t ever get ahold of anyone in NY at this bank? I have left messages and emails and zero. I need to have an account there so I can access my money in Thailand. Any ideas? I live in California and want an account here to transfer money over there. Thanks

[foreverlomsak]

If they are operating on the the same as the London branch you cannot open a personal account with them.

Easiest way I've found to transfer money to my Thai Bangkok Branch is via Wise (or TransferWise as was) excellent exchange rates, low fees and quick transfer compared to a UK banks.

[Caldera]

It's not possible. You can open an account in Thailand and use the New York branch to receive money (which is what I do), but you cannot open an account directly with the New York branch.

[ThaIrish Sean]

You can have internet banking with your Bangkok bank account. I have it on a desktop and mobile phone. And as previous replies state, use Wise to transfer money into Thailand and Dee money to transfer out.

[ubonjoe]

As said you cannot open an account at the New York branch of Bangkok Bank. You can only do transfers via the branch in New Your using the ACH and it must be in the IAT format to do the transfer that the majority of US banks do not do.

Info is here. https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Into-Thailand/Transfer-money-from-US-to-Thailand-via-Bangkok-Bank-NewYork-branch

[Pib]

Bangkok Bank NY does not open bank accts for the common man off the street; it's a bank dedicated to corporation/business accts.    But even without an acct with them you can still use them to transfer money to Thailand if you have an account at a "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank branch already....repeat, you need to have an acct with  Bangkok Bank branch in Thailand already.   

 

This is basically done by using their ABA/ACH routing number (you do not need to have an acct with them to use their routing number) and then an "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank branch acct number.....this method has been available for decades. 

 

But starting in 2019 a ACH transfer leaving the U.S. must be in ACH International ACH Transaction (IAT) format which U.S. banks/financial firms do not use for transfers between U.S. banks except for special business accts.  This change has pretty much put the method of doing an ACH transfer by the common man from his U.S. bank to a Bangkok Bank acct in Thailand a thing of the past although the U.S. govt transfers (like SS, military retirement pensions) can still do ACH transfers to Bangkok Bank accts in Thailand by using the NY branch routing number and your "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank acct.

 

If you need to send money so to family/friends in Thailand you can just wire/SWIFT to their bank accounts or use a money transfer service like Wise (Transferwise).

 

Now if thinking by having a Bangkok Bank NY branch acct that is the same as having a "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank acct, then that is 100% wrong.   The NY branch is a licensed U.S. bank just like Bank of America, Chase, etc., and comply with U.S. banking laws/Federal Reserve regulations; they are not governed by Thai banking laws.   A Bangkok Bank NY branch acct is not a Thai bank acct. 

 

Summary: Bangkok Bank NY is just another U.S. bank, but it's not open to retail, off the street customer accts but open for corporation/business customer accts...and you can no longer use them for ACH transfers leaving the U.S. unless your transfer is in ACH IAT format.

 

[lagavulin1]

16 hours ago, Caldera said:

It's not possible. You can open an account in Thailand and use the New York branch to receive money (which is what I do), but you cannot open an account directly with the New York branch.

The procedure is clearly laid out on BBK website (not surprisingly). 

I've used London for years with no problems but each to his own. Wise may work better for you. 

[dlclark97]

Bangkok Bank New York is no longer allowed to accept ACH transfers.  I have a USD account opened at my local branch of the Bangkok Bank.  Generally I transfer about every six months.  Others here on the monthly income method must transfer monthly preferably reaching your account the same day (or very close to it) each month. 

[Caldera]

6 minutes ago, dlclark97 said:

Bangkok Bank New York is no longer allowed to accept ACH transfers.

 

Strictly speaking, that isn't the case. What has changed is that ACH transfers they receive need to be in IAT format, something which many sending banks unfortunately don't support.

 

As I've mentioned on other threads regarding this subject, my ACH transfers continue to work to this day without any issues, as they're in IAT format. 

[Bradmeister]

Amazing how many people replied to an OP with no posts and from no where. 

 

Any New Yorker with a valid  New York State ID can open a bank account at Bangkok Bank, in Manhattan, New York. 

 

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

37 minutes ago, Bradmeister said:

Any New Yorker with a valid  New York State ID can open a bank account at Bangkok Bank, in Manhattan, New York. 

No they cannot. It is not a commercial bank.

[Pib]

37 minutes ago, Bradmeister said:

Amazing how many people replied to an OP with no posts and from no where. 

 

Any New Yorker with a valid  New York State ID can open a bank account at Bangkok Bank, in Manhattan, New York. 

Read up on the Bangkok Bank NY branch.  It's a wholesale type bank....offerring services such as trade finance, corporate lending, remittance, foreign exchange services, and restricted deposits (fixed & business checking).    It's not a retail type bank for retail customers off the street.  

 

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/International-Banking/Europe-and-North-America/United-States-Business-Banking

[kynikoi]

Impossible.

 

I've even walked past the bank many times. There's a placard that basically says it's not a retail bank. I forget the wording.

 

 

[timendres]

3 hours ago, Caldera said:

As I've mentioned on other threads regarding this subject, my ACH transfers continue to work to this day without any issues, as they're in IAT format. 

 

Quite curious how you are getting this support. Is this another commercial bank that supports IAT? Did you have to specifically request the format, or is it the default? I am quite interested in how I might get this support from my own bank, as well as for clients, as all currently are not able to transfer funds via ACH.

[Caldera]

41 minutes ago, timendres said:

Quite curious how you are getting this support. Is this another commercial bank that supports IAT? Did you have to specifically request the format, or is it the default? I am quite interested in how I might get this support from my own bank, as well as for clients, as all currently are not able to transfer funds via ACH.

 

I basically just got lucky. My payments come via Worldpay and they use IAT by default. Back when Bangkok Bank was about to make that change, I checked with their team as advised and they confirmed that my transfers are already in IAT format - no change required at my end.

[Pib]

43 minutes ago, Caldera said:

 

I basically just got lucky. My payments come via Worldpay and they use IAT by default. Back when Bangkok Bank was about to make that change, I checked with their team as advised and they confirmed that my transfers are already in IAT format - no change required at my end.

So, you are not using a typical U.S. bank but a money transfer service called Worldpay?   And it appears Worldpay was bought/merged with FIS in 2019.   

 

https://www.fisglobal.com/en/merchant-solutions-worldpay

[Tony125]

13 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

As said you cannot open an account at the New York branch of Bangkok Bank. You can only do transfers via the branch in New Your using the ACH and it must be in the IAT format to do the transfer that the majority of US banks do not do.

Info is here. https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Into-Thailand/Transfer-money-from-US-to-Thailand-via-Bangkok-Bank-NewYork-branch

Since you can no longer do a ACH transfer to the Bangkok Bank  in NYC (unless in IAT format) from another US bank you can still do a domestic wire transfer from another US bank to the Bangkok Bank using there routing number. Will cost between $20 ---$30  depending on the other US bank or credit union.

[Pib]

4 minutes ago, Tony125 said:

Since you can no longer do a ACH transfer to the Bangkok Bank  in NYC (unless in IAT format) from another US bank you can still do a domestic wire transfer from another US bank to the Bangkok Bank using there routing number. Will cost between $20 ---$30  depending on the other US bank or credit union.

Yeap...I did one a year or so ago as a test....worked fine.....and my particular credit union for my acct only charges $6 for the domestic wire.

[grin]

With Schwab you get 3 free domestic wires per quarter but you have to fill out the online form every time.

[Pib]

5 minutes ago, grin said:

With Schwab you get 3 free domestic wires per quarter but you have to fill out the online form every time.

 

I think that is only when you have over $100K in assets (brokerage and bank acct balances).   But if you fall below $100K there is a $15 fee.    Like for me, I definitely have less than $100K with them and when starting an online domestic transfer it shows there will be a fee of $15....see partial snapshot below.  

 

 

[DBath]

53 minutes ago, grin said:

With Schwab you get 3 free domestic wires per quarter but you have to fill out the online form every time.

I use Wise for transfers and it works great, but this is good to know, as I’m about to move my money to Schwab from my Merrill Edge account. Merrill, as with many US brokers, technically does not allow account holders to hold an account while residing outside of the US, if for more than 6 months I believe.  Schwab and Interactive Brokers are two reputable firms that will allow this. 

[Jaybott]

Like others, I suggest using Wise. Bangkok Bank screws you on the conversion rate too.  I work for the US government and I have a 100 dollars a pay period going to BKK Bank, just to keep some activity in my account.  This Friday I received 2809 baht for 100 USD.

[Curt1591]

15 hours ago, Bradmeister said:

Amazing how many people replied to an OP with no posts and from no where. 

 

How many posts are required before one deserves a reply? 

[jmcet]

39 minutes ago, Jaybott said:

Like others, I suggest using Wise. Bangkok Bank screws you on the conversion rate too.  I work for the US government and I have a 100 dollars a pay period going to BKK Bank, just to keep some activity in my account.  This Friday I received 2809 baht for 100 USD.

Don't forget that there is a fee charged by Bangkok Bank. The rate given is about as good as you can get ...TT rate on day received

[grin]

On 5/1/2021 at 8:19 AM, Pib said:

 

I think that is only when you have over $100K in assets (brokerage and bank acct balances).   But if you fall below $100K there is a $15 fee.    Like for me, I definitely have less than $100K with them and when starting an online domestic transfer it shows there will be a fee of $15....see partial snapshot below.  

 

 

Ah yes, thanks, forgot about that. There was even a time in the past that you could get 3 free wires per quarter (domestic or international) online or not if you had over $500K at Schwab. Still the $15.00 fee is not bad compared to Wise depending on the amount. The fee for Wise for sending $1500 has been $14.98 for a while. Of course I prefer to use Wise as I know the exchange rate ahead of time plus I can duplicate a previous transaction.

[Pib]

On 5/3/2021 at 9:48 PM, grin said:

Ah yes, thanks, forgot about that. There was even a time in the past that you could get 3 free wires per quarter (domestic or international) online or not if you had over $500K at Schwab. Still the $15.00 fee is not bad compared to Wise depending on the amount. The fee for Wise for sending $1500 has been $14.98 for a while. Of course I prefer to use Wise as I know the exchange rate ahead of time plus I can duplicate a previous transaction.

Keep in mind if doing a domestic wire using the Bangkok Bank NY routing number you will still incur the same Bangkok Bank fees as incurred for ACH transfers.   That is, a Bangkok Bank NY branch fee typically of either $5 or $10 and then the "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) receiving fee.